Abstract
Migrating seniors are choosing to live in nonmetropolitan areas. Many nonmetropolitan communities are, in turn, focusing on recruiting retirees as an economic development strategy. This paper applies a regional growth model to measure the impact of migrating seniors (between 1995 and 2000) on employment and business establishment growth in the southeastern United States from 2000 to 2004. This region is a popular senior destination due to low taxes, mild climate, inexpensive housing, and proximity to friends and families. The economic impacts of senior migration are spatially heterogeneous across the region, suggesting alternative policy implications for urban and nonurban communities.
Highlights
IntroductionIn the 1970s, rural industrialization transformed rural economies in the United States
In the 1970s, rural industrialization transformed rural economies in the United States.This transformation was fueled, in large part, by the migration of manufacturing firms out of urban areas in search of low-cost labor (Johnson 2001)
As suggested by Jacobs (1961), counties with limited access to the physical and cultural amenities provided by the urban core are unlikely to grow rapidly, and the positive impact of attracting the 55–69 cohort is clear. These results suggest that migration of the 55–69 cohort can have a measurable impact in nonmetropolitan counties characterized by slow to moderate job growth, but that in-migration of this cohort is not likely to be the catalyst of rapid growth
Summary
In the 1970s, rural industrialization transformed rural economies in the United States This transformation was fueled, in large part, by the migration of manufacturing firms out of urban areas in search of low-cost labor (Johnson 2001). With innovations in telecommunications and information technologies, conglomeration of financial markets, and the formation of new international trade agreements, the competitive advantage of rural economies waned as the distance between foreign and domestic markets contracted and access to low-cost labor abroad increased. The economic engine that manufacturing was for many rural areas gave way as demand increased for a broader range of service providers, small-business creation, and new economic challenges and opportunities. Since the late 1990s, rural areas have struggled as firm investment flowed back to urban centers able to provide skilled labor, business services, and access to product and input markets. Still other rural areas endowed with natural resources adapted by promoting themselves as recreational tourism destinations or seasonal or retirement communities
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